Posts Tagged 'Running'

The great irony of today’s Finally Spring 5K! in Manchester, Connecticut is that it was far from spring-like. It was one of those classic New England weather days more like late-February or late-November. It was freezing. The temperature didn’t get out of the 30’s (Fahrenheit) and despite pockets of deep blue sky, intermittent snow squalls rolled through as angry clouds dotted the sky. It was ugly! But…it was a great day for running.

All along, the Saturday plan was for Debbie to run 25+ miles and for me to go along as far as I could. I was supposed to do a track workout, but good luck finding a track in these parts that doesn’t have six inches of ice and snow on it. Last night, we were on the Bolton Land Trust’s Bogsucker Slog and met up with Kevin Glenn and Laurie Brooks. They mentioned the Finally Spring 5K! which I had forgotten about.

Like the Bolton Road Race two weeks ago, this presented a unique opportunity. I could do my three-mile track workout on road/trails in the middle of a long run. Fantastic! Our kids were with Deb’s parents, so we ran the long way over to the Howard/Porter Reservoir for this hybrid event. Neither of us had run this race before, though it was the 5th edition. I go through those reservoir trails frequently, but Deb hadn’t even been in there, so while we were racing, she explored the trail system and kept piling up the miles.

We met up with fellow Shenipsit Striders David Merkt, Tony Bonanno, Kate Bonanno, Summer Rabida, and David Sutherland. After doing a loop of the course, I got to the start with 90 seconds to spare. I changed into my “papaya” jersey and we were off. My goal was to run a steady pace like the workout described, which from the looks of my Garmin results, was pretty good despite the hills, snow, ice, and variety of surfaces. It was a fun run, but I had no oomph…until the end. You see, these high schoolers are unreal. They make you earn your spot in the rankings.

I hit my lowest heart rate of the race at 171 with 90 seconds to go as I started to fade badly and then this 17 year-old kid makes his move to bridge up to me. I looked back once and told myself that I wanted to hold on to my spot, but I knew that it was going to hurt. Boy, did it hurt. 90 seconds later I crossed the line with a heart rate of 192, which is a number I rarely see anymore. We ran neck and neck for the final downhill 1/4 mile and I clocked it in 64 seconds. Ouch. I’m supposed to be training for an Ironman. I don’t need to run that fast, but I’m not letting some kid get the best of me in the last bit of a race, no matter how short it is.

I was already well behind Merkt. He had a great race in his Vibram Five Fingers, which were an interesting choice for the course conditions, but that is one reason why he makes me smile so much. Some guys wore track spikes. Spikes? They ought to come out to Traprock next month or Soapstone in May and bring their spikes! At least no one wore snowshoes.

Another guy who crushed me is 17 year-old (making embarasing frown as I type) Henry Domnarski from Palmer, Massachusetts who is getting stronger by the day. His Dad, Matt, is one of my best cycling buddies and a long time teammate on Team Horst Sports. Matt was a champ runner in his day with like a 2:50 Boston Marathon on his resume, but like me, he now seeks glory against other age groupers. Nowadays, all of his racing is on his bicycles. I could see Henry, who took the very competitive under-18 age group, up with Merkt but could never close the gap. I made up for any disappointment with my burst at the end to hold off another young buck.

First overall went to Jacob Gurzler in 16:10. The course was modified because of the snow, but that is still a fast time. He was followed by Kevin Brandon and Andrew Chalmers who both cracked 17. The first woman was Beth Kraseman in 19:37. She was hot on my heels! It was nice to see Beth. She used to do many of the New England Grand Tree Trail Running Series races and is a past Soapstone winner. She has a fast family. Her family ran the race too. She was followed in the women’s field by Jennifer Racine and Alyssa Hamel.

The Manchester Running Company attracted 315 people to this race, though only 255 crossed the line, which is amazing. It was great to see so many folks out there not minding the mud and snow. Merkt and I were both missing chips on our bib numbers and initially they missed us in the results. When we were talking to the guys from Last Mile Timing, they told us that MRC planned on 250 runners so they brought 50 extra chips. Even that wasn’t enough!

It was fitting that for my age group award, I scored a season pass to the Bolton Summer XC Series. If you haven’t been to one of our Wednesday night XC races at the Bolton Heritage Farm, then you have to join us for some fun. After the race, Debbie dragged me home and I got in another 10 miles up and over the top of Birch Mountain. She kept going for five more and we both ended up reaching our training goals for the day. The weather wasn’t pretty. I’m not so sure that spring is here. It may say so on the calendar, but I’m ready for the Finally Summer 5k, or rather 50K.

Nothing beats a hometown race. When you travel as much as we do, it’s a joy to be able to run to the start of an event. It’s also a wonderful thing for a community to have a treasure like the Bolton Road Race. Today’s weather was glorious with incredible sunshine. The roads were still lined with snow from Friday’s crazy late winter snowstorm (we had 18 inches in Bolton), but the roads were dry and the running was hot!

With Debbie’s help, I dragged my creaky and travel weary body out of bed for a pre-race “warmup” that took us all over town. We covered nine miles before the start and made it there with four minutes to spare before the 1:00 P.M. start. Debbie said that Coach Al had prescribed three hours of running, so she opted to put a 5 mile race in the middle of the workout. Our kids were spending some time with my parents, so we had all afternoon to run as long and as far as we wanted. I stopped after 20 miles and 10 minutes short of three hours. I was done, but Debbie wanted to honor her coach’s wishes, and ran the extra 10 minutes.

As for the race, it was fantastic. Race Director, Dani Kennedy, surpassed even her best estimates. The turnout (partially driven by the weather) was excellent, with more than 180 runners in the 5-miler and a handful in the 5K. The 5 mile distance is a rarity nowadays, but 35 years ago when this race was first held, it was a popular format. I’m glad that she didn’t bow to pressure and has maintained the race in its classic form. The figure-eight course has tremendous character and a couple of sharp hills for a road race. You won’t hear any complaints from me. I train on these roads and anyway, these hills are mild compared to the trails. Come out to the Soapstone Mountain Trail Race in May and we will show you!

Debbie did the household proud and was first woman. She took home a nice gift certificate from sponsor, Highland Park Market, one of our favorite stores. That should at least defray one week’s grocery expenses. Brian Nelson showed that he can run any distance from marathon down, including the quirky 5-miler, and smoked the field in 27:06, a fine time. He was trailed by Tim Cote and Robert Jackman. 18-year-old Brendan Callahan was the first Bolton resident in a fine fourth overall.

I was off of my best time on the course, but I’m just getting going. I wasn’t even close to my age group winner, Brett Stoeffler, who was fifth overall. I could see his head bobbing up and down, but he was way up the road and by the time we got the bottom of the last hill, he was gone. Still, I hung on and gave it a little push at the end. You see, I had to, because fellow Bolton resident Trevor Chambers was hot on my heels. The 15-year-old may have 25 years on me, but I showed him who is boss! I had to hurt myself to hold him off by one second. If you know his father Andy, then you know he has good genes!

Dani got a lot of help from her husband Ned, and the race benefitted the Bolton Booster Club. She brought together some great sponsors. The aforementioned Highland Park Market was joined on the roster by Simoniz, Bolton Physical Therapy, Bolton Veterinary, Country Liquors, Shady Glen, Fleet Feet Sports, Bolton Floral Designs, Munson’s Chocolates, Country Carpenters, and Ultimate 1 Hair Salon.

Everyone hung out afterwards for the awards and a cookout. We saw a lot of club-mates from Silk City Striders and Shenipsit Striders. We also had a lot of out of town friends. It was so nice to see everyone outside after a long winter.

Another Manchester Road Race is in the books. It was my 18th year in a row running this 4.748 mile classic. That is only 32 behind Amby Burfoot, who just tied the record (with Charlie “Doc” Robbins) after completing his 50th in a row. This is my 22nd or 23rd overall. I am missing some records.

On a glorious day fully of sunshine and unseasonable warmth, I ran my slowest time since 2008, but couldn’t really expect much more given my preparation. I’m content knowing that my family and friends were close by; and we were joined by 15,000+ other runners and more than 30,000 spectators. It was an awesome day in Manchester. Three of our clubs, the Shenipsit Striders, Silk City Striders, and Hartford Extended Area Triathletes were well represented.

We haven’t had bad weather on Thanksgiving in quite some time. I’m not complaining, though the occasional tempest makes for a bit more excitement. The weather brought out the runners today. It was congested.

Aaron Braun won in an awesome 21:19, tying the record set by Phillimon Hanneck in 1995. Haron Lagat of Kenya, a past winner, finished second in 21:31 and local runner, Donn Cabral, the Olympic steeplechaser from Glastonbury was third in 21:33.

Delilah DiCrescenzo won the women’s race in 24:34. Lisa Uhl was second in 24:39 and Diane Nukuri-Johnson was third 24:46.

My time was somewhere around 27:25. My GPS said 27:28, but that is unofficial. My heart rate was an average of 184, which is better than last weekend’s cyclocross races when I had trouble getting it up to that level. My peak was 191, not bad for a 40-year-old dude. I doubt I’ll see 204 like I used to back 15 years ago.

Debbie had a good run and kept her under 35 minute seed card for 2013. We will be back. I told her that I’m making this an A race next year and I’m going to run more and do some speedwork in the build up. That should make the difference. I want to see 26 something on the clock when I cross the line. Having goals are key to success. I just reset mine for MRR.

Last night, we went to the spaghetti dinner and met a bunch of great runners. The elites were out in force. We met Amby Burfoot, who spoke fondly with his MRR love affair. In addition to running the race 50 times in a row, he won it 9 times between 1968 and 1977. He also won the 1968 Boston Marathon. The honorary chairperson was Deena Kastor, a past winner and Olympic bronze medalist. She was in attendance with her husband and young daughter. They are staying with our friends the Kennedy’s, right here in Bolton.

In some ways, the 2012 Pinhoti 100 was one of Debbie’s “worst” races, and in some ways, it was one of her “best” races. In more than 40 ultras, she has never felt as bad as she did this past weekend. For a period of time, about 12 hours into the race, her body completely failed her, but her mental fortitude was never stronger. I want to make sure she has a chance to provide a race report in her own words, so I’ll merely share a bit of my perspective and then follow-up after her story is told.

It took a lot of visualization (mind games) and perseverance to get to the finish line after what she went through. I crewed for her from the start in Heflin through Aid Station 12, and then paced her for the final 35 miles and six aid stations until we reached the finish on the track at Sylacauga High School. I was very proud of her…very proud of her.

Apparently, this 100.59 mile fifth year classic was hard on a lot of runners. There were 192 starters and only 107 finishers. That is a high attrition rate, even by 100 mile standards. There is nothing easy about going that distance, and it was Debbie’s fourth 100 mile finish, and second this year, following July’s Vermont 100.

There were a lot of challenges thrown the runners’ way. It was a warm day (low-80’s Fahrenheit), with a cool start and cool night (low-50’s Fahrenheit). There was more than 16,000 feet of elevation gain and loss. The trail was technical, though not by New England standards. Still, it was hard enough.

Debbie was pumped up for this Montrail Cup event. As a Western States Endurance Run qualifier, it attracted a strong field of runners. It was her first time in Alabama, and the point to point course was billed as technical, challenging, and mostly singletrack. She enjoyed the course, but despite her troubles, she felt it wasn’t as hard as billed, which means it was “too easy” for her liking.

That may sound weird considering that she didn’t have a great race, but she really does do better when it is rocky, rooty, technical, and undulating with short by steep climbs. The footing on most of the Pinhoti Trail was good, which means it was relatively smooth. The hills were tough, with the climb of the Horn having 25+ switchbacks. There were a lot of pine needles on the trail, which made uphills slippery and downhills cushy. There seemed to be less singletrack and more dirt road than advertised. These dirt roads were very dusty, which was a significant annoyance for the runners and contributed to some respiratory challenges.

Mercifully, the extra dirt roads came late in the race, which combined with the three-mile asphalt finishing stretch, was a major factor in her recovery from her earlier issues. The race saw some monster performances, particularly from the women. Denise Bourassa crushed the course record with her 19:24:48 finish. She was fifth overall and spent much of the race in fourth place. 6th and 7th overall went to the second and third place women: Megan Hall in 20:16:19, and Melanie Fryar in 20:25:56. Bourassa was already a WS100 qualifier, so the two slots went to Hall and Fryar.

They outran some very talented men. Speaking of talented men, Jeremy Humphrey ran nearly 90 miles out front before ceding the lead and victory to Neal Gorman. Gorman finished in 17:06:53 after catching Humphrey late in the game. Humphrey still ran a fine 17:41:34. Third went to Yassine Diboun in 18:02:13. Gorman too, was already a qualifier for WS100, so the slots went to Humphrey and Diboun.

Debbie’s time was 23:25:10, good for fourth place woman and 20th overall. She didn’t think it would take that long. Last year’s Grindstone 100, a tougher course, was only 95 minutes longer for her. She was aiming for a time between 21 and 22 hours, and was on pace for 60 miles before she suffered her meltdown triggered by severe nausea and fatigue. When she left Clairmont Gap at 60.29 miles, after changing her socks, she was looking good and moving well. When I saw her five miles and nearly three hours later at Chandler Springs, the “wheels had come off.”

I had parked the rental car at the aid station and the plan was to run the final 35 miles with her. She was way late at arriving and many of the guys that she was leading passed her and arrived before her. I finally asked a pair of runners if they had seen her on the trail. They replied that she was “way back” and was “wandering.” I recall one runner gesturing with his hands to show the “not so straight” direction of her movements. That didn’t sound good. It sounded like she blew up and that it was going to be a long night.

I had been joined all day long by Sean Andrish, a fine ultrarunner from the Washington D.C. area. He has many top results and more than 100 ultras on his palmares. He was crewing/pacing for our friend, Kelly Wilson. Kelly was the sixth woman and had her own struggles but showed her own strength by gutting out a finish and earning a coveted belt buckle. Sean rode shotgun with me and pitched in while cheering on all of the runners that he knew, which were many.

At Chandler Springs, after waiting too long for Debbie to arrive, he and I went backwards on the course for a ways before he returned to the aid station. About a mile later, I intercepted Debbie, who was feeling miserable. Her stomach was not good, and she hadn’t been eating much, but we made it to the aid station.

Sean and I tried to get some food in her, but she couldn’t eat much. She was able to nibble on some raw ginger and ingest some ginger ale. We wrapped some bananas and oranges in foil, which I carried in my hands, and headed back onto the trail. Almost immediately, after trying to ingest an electrolyte capsule, her stomach went sour and the vomiting began. Her discomfort lasted for hours and reached its zenith at The Pinnacle following the longest climb on the course. It seemed like she wouldn’t be able to continue, but stopping never crossed her mind, nor did it enter my mind.

We have enough experience with these races to know that no matter how bad you feel, you almost always can forge ahead. I offered her as much support as possible, but this was new territory. We tried several food combinations but she didn’t want to put anything in her stomach. It was terribly upset. We were upset. It was an emotional situation. She was able to suck some salt off a pretzel stick, eat some potato, drink some cola, and chew gummy bears. The small amount of calories and some time permitted her to improve after about five hours of intense suffering at a very slow pace.

It took the two of us more than nine hours to cover 35 miles (as shown by my GPS data), though the final four were much better than the first five. Like I said, there was less trail and more road in the last part of the race, so she was able to lift her pace nicely and rally to the finish. I was sad that she experienced such a rough patch between mile 60 and mile 85, but I was ecstatic that she was able to remain focused and power her way to the finish. Her meltdown was reminiscent of my own colossal collapse during our 2011 one day White Mountain Hut Traverse. On that day, she helped me get to the finish. She says I was in worse shape than she was this past weekend. Ouch, she can be competitive, even within our family!

We had a gorgeous night and despite how she felt, she really enjoyed the time outside. It was crystal clear and the stars were spectacular. Our wildlife encounters were sort of fun. There were thousands and thousands of spiders in the woods. Our headlights shown on their glinting eyes. It was sp0oky but cool. I was dive bombed by an owl, we saw many bats, and heard the occasional coyote in the distance.

The aid station volunteers were very nice and very helpful. I regretted showing my impatience with some of them, but they were good spirited. Any issues were related to the available food and drink, and that wasn’t there fault. The aid station food was not vegetarian/vegan friendly at all. All of the soups had significant amounts of meat in them (ham, turkey, chicken, etc.), which limited options for some runners, including Debbie. I even struggled to get plain old hot water so that we could mix our own miso soup, which I brought along.

There was no hot water, but at least one station featured deep-fried turkey. We weren’t used to this fare. I share her disappointment in the limited options and we will offer suggestions for next year. In the end, we should have anticipated this and prepared better. There was a great vibe to this race. Sean and I had a blast cheering on the runners, taking photos, and spending time with the crews/families of the runners. The Pinhoti National Recreation Trail is a fine trail and gets a lot of love from the Pinhoti Trail Alliance.

Point to point courses are tough, but fun to crew. I did it earlier this year and last year at Laurel Highlands Ultra with our kids in tow, and it was enjoyable, but hard. I wanted to pace Debbie at Pinhoti, so our kids stayed home with their grandparents, which was nice for everyone involved. There was a fair amount of traffic along the course, particularly at the early aid stations. This made the dust situation even worse. There were a lot of leaf peeping Alabamans cruising the Talladega Scenic Byway and this was very evident at Cheaha State Park where it was gridlock.

Cheaha was the site of a major aid station and also the highest point in Alabama, thus the highest point on the course. There was a lot of traffic in the park. The race production was quite different from what we are used to for major ultras. It was run with a low key flair. There were no port-o-potties at aid stations.There were no course marshals directing traffic or guarding road crossings. Volunteers were concentrated at the aid stations only.

Glancing at the results, you can see that runners came from all over the country, which is pretty cool. We connected with several guys from New England, which was cool. Anthony Parillo and Adam Stepanovic, and their crew/pacer, Alexander Hayman, really cracked us up. They were fun to hang with.

After my Javelina Jundred run with Catra Corbett two weeks ago, and this run with Debbie, I’m feeling like a “pacer to the stars.”

This past Tuesday, I finished race 10 in the 10 race Winding Trails Summer Tri Series. This off-road triathlon (1/4 mile swim/5 mile MTB/5 kilometer run) has been a real highlight for me. I’m proud to have done all 10 races because doing all of them was the goal I set for myself before the season. It felt good to punch my series card for the last time at registration, and I made it official when I crossed the timing mat for the final time in 2012. I kept me luck #44 the whole season and the last body marking is almost faded for good.

The sad part of the story is that the days are getting shorter and I’ll miss this great event until next June when the 2013 series kicks off. Seven races into this weekly series, when I was beginning to tire, I was thinking that I would cut back in 2013. I lose some production at work when I leave early, the I-84/Route 4 traffic is a bear, it’s hard to come back to a Tuesday race when you just had a race on Sunday, and some weeks it would be better to simply take a break. Most of the nights, I was also giving up some family time, though Debbie and the kids joined me on at least three occasions. All reasoning aside, my 2nd place (tied) overall finish got me free entry for next year, which I very much appreciate.

So, we will see how my 2013 sporting goals shape up, but barring a big shift in my approach, I’ll aim for 10 again. Of course, I didn’t have travel this summer, and next year, it could be different. Debbie has some big races planned and I may opt for a big event or two that requires travel. The Tuesday night stuff is just for fun, but it gets me fit, and I love the low-key vibe. It’s also great to see the same friends week in and week out. This race consistently attracts nearly 200 athletes of all ages and abilities. The weekend stuff will always take precedence, but 10 races for $175 is a great value and the cumulative 500 minutes of racing can’t be beat for workout impact.

At times, you wouldn’t know that it was a scrimmage. I battled with the same guys (and gals) all summer and nobody was relenting. Some people joked that this is our version of the “Tuesday Night World Championships.” I agree. I pushed as hard in these races as I push in any. There is no “going easy” in my mind, so whether it is Tuesday or Sunday, you lay it all on the line.

Since they score your best 8 finishes for the series awards, you really have to get to all of them if you want a shot at the podium because you are bound to have at least one or two off nights. I had five 2nd place finishes, four 3rd place finishes, and a 13th. I went hard in all but that one race because the Pat Griskus Sprint was the next night and it was an “A” race for me. That was the only time I backed off. A couple of times, I went into the race with cooked legs. The toughest one was two days after the Wilderness 101 mountain bike race. I was fried and it was a painful evening, but I salvaged a result.

Matt Chisholm took the overall series title. He won seven of the eight races he started. Peter Kuth won the other three. Matt had our number every week after week one. He is only 16 years old and hasn’t even scratched the surface of his amazing talent. I would love to have fresh legs like him and the chance to run free of the other things going on in “life.” Despite getting my clock cleaned on numerous occasions, I got in my shots. A few nights, I really made him work for the win which felt good since I’m 24 years older. My best race against him was in week #7. I was on and he was off. I tried to get in his head by catching him on the bike and surging ahead at the start of the run. He recovered to catch me and I pushed the pace like never before in a last-ditch effort to break him. Instead, I’m the one who broke, but I hung on and he only got me by 20 seconds. That is a race I’ll remember.

I also pushed Peter on several occasions. Though he beat me to the line in both of the races that Matt didn’t start, I got the best of him on several other occasions. We had a supreme battle in week nine when after catching him on the bike, we traded blows throughout the run. It came down to a sprint and he went so hard that he wiped out with a total face-plant 30 meters before the finish. At race #10 earlier this week, I never saw him, but I still pushed like a maniac because I had a slim overall series lead over him going into the final race. Matt couldn’t be caught, but I wanted to retain my second position and keep Peter in third. I had a bad run, but still thought I got it done.

At the award ceremony, they said that Peter and I had tied with 611 points. I have no idea how series points are scored and haven’t seen the final tally yet, but it doesn’t matter. The “secret formula” somehow factors both your weekly place and time. The tie is pretty amazing and pretty cool. I ceded him the 2nd place goodie bag because he won the last race and he had a total of three wins to my zero. I may have been more consistent, especially on the fast nights, but he earned his podium spot fair and square. I’m happy with my results. The only time I beat Matt was in week one, when the weather was bad, the course was slick, and that played into my favor. Peter won that night, which was also the only time that he finished in front of Matt, who has the course record.

Every week, those guys started the bike at least a minute up on me. My swim is my weakness and when you do the same course 10 times, you can really analyze your performances. I experimented with several transition strategies, but ultimately the one I settled on yielded me some of the fastest changeovers. I’m glad I improved that part of my game because it matters in sprint tri’s. I was happy with my riding on most nights. My Seven Sola 26er is a great bike for the course. My running was up and down. I’m not going as well as last year and had trouble closing on some nights.

If I took my fastest splits and added them up, my best virtual overall time would be 47:35. That would have been the perfect race!

There were many strong performances. It wasn’t just the top three guys. Awards went three deep in every age group. The overall female winner was another 16-year-old, Rachel Rosow. Like Matt, she was getting stronger every week and proved it in week 10 with a course record. She even ran faster than me in that race. That is awesome. My tri club, the Hartford Extended Area Triathletes, had a huge presence all season long and we were a factor in many of the age groups. Like I said, many of them enjoy the racing as much as I do.

One of the funniest moments of the weekend was early this morning at body marking for the New England Season Opener Triathlon in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. The volunteer body marker asked, “How old are you?” I said, “39…but, but, but…racing age is……40.” He said, “Wow, you really hesitated there.”

And so I did. In this health care dominant society, 70 may be the new 40 and 40 isn’t what it used to be, but it still has a reputation for being a milestone age. I got the 4-0 marked on my calf, hence the start of my fourth season of triathlon and first in a new age group.

Today’s NE Season Opener was run in much better conditions than the last time I did this race in 2010. That event was epic, with an unseasonably cold temperature and a fierce wind. The swim was shortened in 2010, but I think we made up for it today. It was a longish 1/4 mile. The bike (10 miles) and run (5 kilometers) courses were the same as last time. Hopkinton State Park is a good venue and the volunteers were excellent.

The water was cold, but tolerable with a good wetsuit. I had an OK swim considering I didn’t warm up at all. It wasn’t a disadvantage because very few people got into the water before they were told that they had to! My bike was also OK. It was good to get in to the aero position for the first time since last August. I was happy to be on my Team Seven Cycles Kameha SLX. My bike really stands out in the transition area. Love it! The roads were very rough. There are a lot of bumps and frost heaves, particularly on the park roads. I picked up many spots on the bike leg.

I saw one bad wreck. I actually just caught the aftermath. I didn’t see the guy go down, but it had just happened. Thankfully, he only suffered road rash (bad on his right side) and was already being tended to when I arrived on the scene. The traffic was a little busy and there were a lot of cars around him, so like I said, he is lucky. I had an OK run. My running has been lagging all year. I haven’t done much training after a four-month complete layoff from running, so I’ll take what I can get from my form. At least today will help for the next time I have to push.

So, back to the 40-44 age group-I was third in my “debut” which is nice, but it was fun to just kick off the season. I was 10th overall out of an amazing 430+ triathletes. That is more than twice as many as two years ago! They got another 124 duathletes, plus teams, which proves that the popularity of multisport is still growing. My bike leg was faster this year, but as mentioned, my run was a bit pokey compared to 2010. You can’t compare the swims because they were different.

The Boston University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology brought huge teams to the race. We didn’t have collegiate triathlon 22 years ago when I was at BU, but it is good to see them fielding such a robust squad. I was on the BU Cycling Team, which was how I was introduced to competitive road cycling, which led me to where I am today. I remember racing collegiates like it was yesterday. That was a lot of fun. Today, I’ll have to celebrate the fact that I got to the finish line before most of those “kids” who are half my age…literally.

Our family spent all day at an ultra marathon trail race, and neither Debbie or I ran. However, a lot of our friends did. Today’s third Traprock 50K in Bloomfield, Connecticut, was a lot of fun. We crewed for my cousin, Danny Roy, who finished his first ultra. We cheered for all of our club-mates in the Shenipsit Striders. We helped out where we could.

Ben Nephew won the men’s race and Kristina Folcik won the women’s race. Ben didn’t get the course record, and likely due to the warmer than normal temperature. He was followed by the ageless Jack Pilla and Ryan Welts. The trails in Penwood State Forest were dry and dusty. The weather was warmer than usual, which was very different from past editions of Traprock. Debbie ran the inaugural Traprock in 2010, and both of us ran the race in 2011, but we opted to sit this one out.

There were nearly 100 finishers in the three lap race. Approximately 125 started. There was also a one-lap 17K race. Like the Nipmuck Trail that the Northern Nipmuck Trail Race was held on last week, the Metacomet Trail is another key part of the Connecticut Blue-Blazed Hiking Trails. The Metacomet is also part of the New England Scenic Trail. Race Directors Kevin Hutt and Steve Nelson said that proceeds from the sold-out event would benefit the Connecticut Forest & Park Association.

The Traprock team got support from several local sponsors. In addition to support from the Shenipsit Striders, support also came from the Bimbler’s Sound Running Club. Bimbler’s Jerry Turk and Kerry Arsenault handled the race timing.

The Traprock 50K in April and the Bimbler’s Bluff 50K in October, have become Connecticut’s two best ultras. It’s great to see how these races have grown.